By Zack Rosenfeld
News Editor
and Diane Lee
Staff Writer
A Mira Costa student was arrested off campus after school on Dec. 7 for allegedly threatening a school administrator.
Mira Costa administrators said that someone close to the student reported the student’s criminal intentions to the Mira Costa administration. The administration then contacted the Manhattan Beach Police Department, who sent out an all-points bulletin to locate the student. The MBPD found and arrested the student immediately, sending him or her to jail with bond set at $500,000.
“The school was informed of this threat after school. We notified the police immediately and the student was found with the same dangerous materials described by the person close to the alleged student,” Principal Ben Dale said. “He or she will be further disciplined based on the Educational Code, not the penal code, if he or she decides to come back to school.”
According to Dale, the MBPD immediately placed the administrator under protection, and the administrator was given a restraining order against the student. The student is currently under an investigation and may not legally attend school until the investigation is over.
“The student was released from custody over the winter break and is currently staying home,” School Resource Officer John Loy said.
There is a possibility that the student will not go to court because of the complicated course this case has taken. The person who initially reported the student’s intention now denies that the student ever had such plans. If a court case does become necessary, it would occur in February.
“The case has become very messy. It’s like an episode of ‘Jerry Springer.’ The person close to the student who reported the case is breaking down and saying different things from what he or she has said before,” Dale said. “Everything is confusing with the lack of information available.”
According to Loy, if the student is found guilty, he or she may serve up to eight years in prison. The amount of time would depend on what the jury charges him or her with and what the judge decides to do based on the jury’s verdict. If the student is found innocent, the MBPD will drop the charges, and the student may come back to school but not necessarily Mira Costa High School.
“My position is that the student should not come back to Mira Costa, not because of punitive reasons but out of concern for the student,” Dale said. “It seems a lot of students already know who the student is and with the restraining order on the student, he or she will have a hard time functioning normally at school.”
Since the investigation is still going on, no public record from the MBPD is currently available.
La Vista decided not to print the alleged student’s name because of the pending investigation and also decided not to use the administrator’s name at the request of Mira Costa officials.
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